The Copan Sculpture Museum: Ancient Maya in Stucco and Stone
Barbara W Fash
Peabody Museum Press, 2011
216pp, 198 colour illustrations, 34 line drawings, 35 half-tones, 2 maps
Paperback, £25.95
With the dawn of the year 2012, there has been renewed interested in the ancient Maya. To some degree this draws upon a deep-seated public perception that the Maya were peaceful calculators. Archaeology presents a more complicated picture. While the accuracy of the Mayan calendar is well known, it is a myth that they were peaceful. And while much of their art may appear to be strange or even extra-terrestrial at first, they follow long-standing artistic conventions, just as other cultures do. A good place to start a journey of discovery is presented in the book by Barbara Fash. Copan is located in western Honduras, and was a lavish city of the Classic Maya period of the 5th to 9th centuries AD. It was located in the extreme south-east of the Mayan cultural zone, and was surrounded by non-Mayan peoples.
However, the art of the city reflects the elite tastes of the ruling class. Although known to colonial authorities, the city received detailed attention from European explorers in the 19th century. In the 20th century the site was explored by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, and later the Carnegie Institution played a role in both excavation and restoration. Copan was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980, and it has been the subject of special attention by foreign and Honduran funding. No better example of a successful project can be found than the Copan Sculpture Museum, which opened on 3 August 1996. This museum preserves otherwise delicate sculptures as well as presenting reconstructions. The most impressive reconstruction is the so-called Rosalila (rose-lilac). This Early Classic period temple commemorated Copan's 10th ruler, called Moon Jaguar, who ruled from 553 to 578.
The first temple was buried beneath later structures, and only accessible via tunnels. The reconstructed structure has been meticulously researched so that the colours are correct. When the colours are revealed, the otherwise confusing welter of designs resolve. The temple represents a place of creation with water, which gives rise to maize. In the sky above are two-headed dragons, and the lower parts of the temple bear representations of the sun god. The lowermost register bears representations of hybrid quetzals and macaws. This is likely a reference to the founder of the Copán dynasty, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' (Sun-faced Green/New/First Quetzal Macaw).
